Wierd museum, but if you love modern art, you might just love this placeNov 12, 2010

Ok, I have to begin my review with the fact that I am not much of a lover of modern or abstract art.

From the outside, the building is absolutley magnificent, but I found the inside to be quite strange; I won't say "disappointing", but I didn't really enjoy myself. We took a ferry over from Rio and the breeze was great on a hot day. Like, I said, from the outside, the building itself is an cylindrical arhcitectural marvel. It was completed around 1996 (if I remember correctly) and is one of Niteroi's main landmarks.

It is certainly a space to spend a lot of time pondering about the different facets of life, but I was not so interested in the art itself. There was one piece that looked like a trough of sand that had footprints in it and the reddish sand spilled out on one end (looking like someone had spilled it or made a mess).

You may find it is something you will enjoy or spend a considerable amount of time in, but I couldn't do it. It was inexpensive and just on the other side of the bay from Rio, so you could always add it as a quick stop, but that's about it.

The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói — MAC) is situated in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is one of the city’s main landmarks.

It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, the premier architect of Brazil, and shows his work as well as the works of other artists.

The museum projects itself over Boa Viagem (“Bon Voyage,” “Good Journey”) and features a 817-square meter reflecting pool that surrounds the cylindrical base “like a flower,” in the words of Niemeyer.

A wide access slope leads to a Hall of Expositions, which has a capacity for sixty people. Two doors lead to the viewing gallery, through which can be seen the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Sugarloaf Mountain, as well as the Christ. The saucer-shaped modernist structure, which has been likened to a UFO, is set on a cliffside, at the bottom of which is a beach. In the film Oscar Niemeyer, an architect committed to his century (Marc Henri Wajnberg, 2000), Niemeyer is seen flying over Rio de Janeiro in a UFO, which then lands on the site, suggesting this as the origin of the museum.

Great place to escape to on a hot day as entrance is R$4 and the art inside is wonderful and touching. This place alone is worth a trip to Niteroi.